Obama talks climate change, the beauty of nature in Yosemite speech
President Obama spoke of environmental concerns and remedies in his Saturday speech to a small crowd of invited guests at Yosemite National Park.
"Climate change is no longer a threat; it is a reality," he said, touting conservation efforts of his administration. "As we look back over the last 100 years," Obama continued, referencing the National Park System's upcoming centennial anniversary, "there is plenty to celebrate about a national park system that is the envy of the world. But when we look to the next century, the next 100 years, the task of protecting our sacred spaces is even more important."
Obama also talked of Yosemite's natural beauty in glowing terms, enthusing, "You can’t view this on your iPad or a flat screen. You have to breathe this in yourself. It’s a park that captures the wonders of the world."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
The best homes of the year
Feature Featuring a grand turret entrance in New York and built-in glass elevator in Arizona
By The Week Staff Published
-
Nordstrom family, investor to take retail chain private
Speed Read The business will be acquired by members of the family and El Puerto de Liverpool, a Mexican real estate company
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden commutes most federal death sentences
Speed Read The president downgraded the punishment of 37 of 40 prisoners on death row to life in prison without parole
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of extreme hurricanes
In the Spotlight An eagle eye at a deadly hurricane season
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Chocolate is the latest climate change victim, but scientists may have solutions
Under the radar Making the sweet treat sustainable
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cyclone
Speed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How would reaching net zero change our lives?
Today's Big Question Climate target could bring many benefits but global heating would continue
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinks
Speed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 ends
Speed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What are Trump's plans for the climate?
Today's big question Trump's America may be a lot less green
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The bacterial consequences of hurricanes
Under the radar Floodwaters are microbial hotbeds
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published